Today we kick off the IPI’s year-end awards with the announcement of the Rookie of the Year, an award given to the Indians minor leaguer who had the best professional stateside debut this year. Prospect standing is not considered with these awards as they are 100% awarded based on performance. In the coming days the Defensive Player of the Year, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest Breakthrough, Reliever of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and All-Tony Team will be announced.

Tony continues with his fifth piece of his six-part series recapping all six of the Indians' stateside affiliates. In Tony's review of the Indians' Low-A affiliate the Lake County Captains, he sat down with the Indians front office over the weekend and discussed their season, the exceptional seasons from the likes of Jordan Smith, Cody Anderson, Francisco Lindor, and others, the breakout performances of Cole Cook, Jerrud Sabourin, Jose Ramirez and others, and some of those like Felix Sterling, Jake Lowery, and others that fell short of expectations but much is still expected of them.

The Lake County Captains had a great 2012 season that they topped off with a postseason run sending them to the second round of the Midwest League playoffs. They did something that is hard to do in the minors which is develop and win at the same time, something that is a testament to the coaching staff and players there this season. Stephanie Metzger recaps the season that was for the Captains.

The minor league 2012 season officially ended for the Indians over the weekend with Double-A Akron winning a league title, but the beat goes on with Instructional League already in session and other fall and winter leagues set to start in the next few weeks. Today, Tony checks in with another Minor Happenings piece and takes a deep look into first baseman Chun Chen's future with the Indians and also provides tons of comments from the Indians front office on the likes of guys named Salazar, Guilmet, Urshela, Radeke, and more. Also, be on the lookout for the first Instructional League game recap later today or first thing tomorrow.

Tony is back with another edition of "The Radar Report" that has lots of gun readings on several Indians' prospects in the system. This is a premium site feature which posts about once a month and provides the fastball and secondary velocities of players in the Indians' organization that he sees. This week's report includes information on several arms from short season Single-A Mahoning Valley all the way up to Double-A Akron like Jake Sisco, Danny Salazar, Fabio Martinez and more.

In today’s Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the positive strides that Alex Lavisky has made this season and how he has legitimized himself as a catching prospect. In addition to that he discusses and breaks down how right-handed pitcher Cole Cook is back on the prospect radar, how first baseman Jesus Aguilar has solidified his prospect status this season, and provides tons of comments from Ross Atkins on the Lake County team.

The Lake County Captains’ 2012 season came to a close as they fell 13-6 to the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the third game of the Midwest League Division championship on Monday. Right-hander Cody Anderson (4-7, 3.20) received the nod to start for the Captains to counter Fort Wayne righty James Needy (1-0, 3.60).

Bryson Myles had three hits and Jordan Smith knocked in a pair as The Lake County Captains defeated the Fort Wayne Tincaps by a final of 7-4 at Classic Park. Lake County scored five times in the second inning. Jose Ramirez singled to give the Captains a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, Jordan Smith lined a triple down the right field and two runners scored and the lead was 5-1. Lake County evens the Eastern Division Championship Series at one game apiece.

Yeison Asencio had two RBI's and the go-ahead single in the eighth inning as The Fort Wayne Tincaps defeated the Lake County Captains 4-3 in Parkview Field. Travis Jankowski led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a double to left field and then was sacrificed to third base. With the runner on third and one out, Asencio singled home the winning run.

The Lake County Captains have moved on to the next round of the Midwest League playoffs, and one of the key members of the bullpen right-hander Cody Penny recently sat down with the IPI's Stephanie Metzger to talk about his first pro season, his goals, his stuff, and the playoff run.

The minor league season may be over, but there is no end in sight for Minor Happenings or the minor league coverage here on the IPI. In this week’s Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the emergence of Low-A Lake County second baseman Jose Ramirez and what kind of prospect he really is, the strong finish from Lake County catcher Jake Lowery, and the good year but unfortunate injury to short season Single-A Mahoning Valley lefty Geoff Davenport. As always, he has lots of quotes on players like Matt Langwell, Carlos Moncrief, Matt Packer and others provided by the front office, and lots more.

The Lake County Captains clung to a one-run lead on Wednesday as reliever Nick Pasquale pitched the Captains to a 5-4 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Right-hander Cody Anderson (4-7, 3.20) took the bump for the Captains to counter Bowling Green's Parker Markel (11-5, 3.53), who has been the Hot Rods most formidable starter during the second half of the season.

The 2012 Minor League Baseball playoffs get underway tonight, and two Indians’ affiliates Low-A Lake County and Double-A Akron are a part of the postseason fun this year. Tony provides a brief preview for Lake County and Akron with the pitching probables for each series, the game schedule for the duration of the playoffs for both teams, some recent additions to both rosters, and more.

The Lake County Captains (37-29, 68-67) scored four runs in the second inning and five runs in the fifth inning to open up a 10 run lead as they defeated the Bowling Green Hot Rods (40-26, 78-58) by a final score of 11-4 on Thursday night. With the Captains win, their magic number for clinching a playoff spot is down to two.

In today’s Minor Happenings, Tony looks at the very strong season that High-A Carolina third baseman Giovanny Urshela has had and the jump he has made as a prospect. He also touches on the season that Carolina right-handed pitcher Jordan Cooper has had and what it may mean for his future, provides lots of comments from Ross Atkins on some of their rising young Latin American stars, and provides injury updates and more on players like Lars Anderson, Adam Abraham, Carlos Moncrief, Tyler Naquin, and others.t

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!